Child's Play (D.I. Kim Stone #11)(65)

‘Okay, let me explain it another way,’ Serena continued. ‘The children that come here don’t fit in anywhere. In a normal school environment, their intelligence is far superior to almost everyone around them, including the teachers. They become isolated by their own brilliance, usually bullied and ostracised through jealousy or just because they’re different. Coming here gives them the opportunity to see that they’re not alone, that there are others just like them and that their gifts are to be celebrated and not hidden.’

Again, Kim had to concede the point.

‘But the intensity of the competition, the passion of the parents?’ she questioned, recalling all the bent heads she’d passed in the café area during her walk around.

‘Have you been to a kiddie’s football game recently, officer?’

Kim shook her head.

‘You should. It’s brutal. Competitive parents shouting from the sidelines, insulting other children, the referee, other parents. It’s no different, except for the shouting of course. We don’t allow that but the children look forward to coming, to mixing amongst their peers. Just to have a couple of days not feeling like freaks or oddities.’

Kim got it but would have been happier had they been meeting up in the woods for hiking, climbing and good old-fashioned fun amongst friends, not intense competition.

‘That’s why we didn’t cancel the event this year. The children needed to come together and—’

‘You considered cancelling because of the murders?’ Kim asked, which was something she could finally understand.

Serena shook her head. ‘No, because of the tragic death of the Robinson boy.’

Kim frowned. ‘Sorry?’

Serena appeared surprised that she didn’t know.

‘The Robinson family are the stars of our event.’

‘And?’ Kim asked, leaning in closer.

‘Last week, their twelve-year-old son tragically died.’





Seventy





‘Okay, folks, what we got?’ Kim asked, entering the hotel room.

The team had been busy taping photographs to the wall and filling the flip charts with facts and dates while she’d been talking to Serena.

Afterwards she had taken a few minutes to wander the deserted corridors in search of the single woman she’d seen earlier who had disappeared by the time she’d finished her conversation with Jared and Serena, although Jared had barely spoken at all.

But throughout the building lights had been lowered and doors locked as everyone had turned in for the night.

The scene that had taken place between the two women was still fresh in her mind and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

‘Thanks for doing the flip charts, Tink,’ Kim said, pushing her behind onto the table to look at them.

‘Hey, ‘Bryant protested. ‘It might have been me.’

‘Last I heard you didn’t put little circles above your I’s instead of dots,’ Kim noted, looking from one board to the other. All events were recorded and the timeline was striking. Less than a week and three people were dead.

The professor’s words were still circling in her mind. ‘But what’s the trigger?’ she asked, folding her arms and staring hard. ‘What the hell has caused this murder spree?’

In the silence of no responses Woody’s warning sounded in her head. It was almost midnight and her team would keep going as long as she did.

‘Stace, make a note of the name Stevie Robinson, a twelve-year-old boy from Evesham who died last week.’

There was a second of silence before Stacey wrote down the name and then turned to her computer. The death of a child never went unacknowledged.

‘Tomorrow, Stace,’ Kim said. ‘It’s late and I’m pretty sure Woody would have my guts for garters if he could see us right now. Time to get some rest, but seriously, great work today folks,’ she acknowledged, as they began to move around the room.

‘Stace, got a sec?’ Kim asked as Tiff headed for one room and Bryant for the other.

‘Yeah, boss.’

Kim waited for a few seconds. ‘You okay?’

‘Sure, boss, why?’

‘Quiet, not eating. It’s been a long day and you’ve worked…’

‘I’m not stressed, boss,’ Stacey said, offering her a tired smile.

‘You wouldn’t necessarily know, though. It can just sneak up without you knowing it.’

‘Honest, boss, I’m not stressed. I’m absolutely fine, just a bit tired now but I’m good, I swear,’ she said, moving towards the bedroom she was going to share with Tiff.

‘If there’s anything you want to talk about, you know I’m here, right?’

‘Course. But I’m right as rain, I swear.’

Kim wished her good night gaining no comfort from her colleague’s reassurances at all.

Stacey was clearly lying to her and she had no idea why.





Seventy-One





Penn crawled into bed at 2 a.m. and despite the fatigue weighing down his bones he knew he would get little sleep tonight. And he sought it desperately, not least to escape from the thoughts running around his head.

After the revelations from Keats and Mitch his brain had switched to overdrive. Long gone were his fears about having made a mistake and as the SIO he’d have to wear it. That wasn’t what was keeping him awake.